Punia and the King of Sharks: A Hawaiian Folktale [Hardcover]

Lee Wardlaw (Author)

Book Description

Age Level: 4 and up

All Punia wants is a succulent lobster dinner for himself and his mother, and the use of the lobster cave for his fellow villagers. Three times Punia tricks the King of Sharks, the guardian of the lobster cave; three times he brings home fresh lobster. But each time Punia succeeds, the King of Sharks gets angrier. Will the shark take revenge on Punia, or will Punia's clever tricks make him the hero of his whole village. Full color.

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

Jaunty prose and artwork join forces in this adaptation of a Hawaiian folktale in which a slip of a boy outwits the treacherous King of Sharks. Some years before, Punia's father was eaten by sharks while trying to catch lobsters, and now, hoping to assuage his mother's craving for the delicacy, Punia determines to trick the shark king. Three times he steals lobster from the king's private supply, and three times he causes the king to distrust his closest followers until, on the fourth attempt, Punia fights the king alone. Wardlaw's (The Tales of Grandpa Cat) text breezes along, filled with the natural cadences of speech and studded with vivid images ("fat lobsters, red as sunset, sweet as coconut"). Davalos (The Sea Serpent's Daughter) depicts life above and below sea level in varying shades of blue-green, bright and flat in the island light. His sharks grin demonically, yet are comical rather than frightening, gullibility apparent on their placid snouts. In contrast, Punia is all movement, mischievous and wily. The verdant island setting gives the light-hearted text a firm foundation, a sense of place and history, imbuing the story with the quality of local legend. Ages 4-8.
Copyright 1996 Reed Business Information, Inc.

From School Library Journal

Kindergarten-Grade 3. Since Punia's father was eaten by sharks while fishing, the boy and his mother have subsisted on yams and poi instead of lobster. One day while Punia stares longingly at the cave where the lobsters live, he sees the sharks sleeping and gets an idea. As they swim toward a big rock he has thrown in the water, Punia dives into the cove and snatches several lobsters. This is only the first of several, even more complicated tricks that he dreams up until he banishes the sharks forever from his cove. Wardlaw's adaptation of a traditional Hawaiian trickster tale has an added element of nail-biting suspense, for in playing his final trick Punia becomes a bit too bold and almost ends up in the shark king's belly. Of course, his quick wits save him in the end, and peace is restored to Hawaiian waters and lobster meat to Punia's table. Davalos evokes the lush setting of a tropical island with his richly colored illustrations. The layout is nicely balanced throughout the book to carry the story forward and underscore its drama. A welcome addition to trickster tales from other cultures.?Barbara Kiefer, Teachers College, Columbia University, NY
Copyright 1997 Reed Business Information, Inc.

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Reading level: Ages 4 and up
  
• Hardcover: 32 pages
• Publisher: Dial; 1st edition (January 1, 1997)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0803716826
• ISBN-13: 978-0803716827
• Product Dimensions: 10.8 x 8.8 x 0.4 inches
• Shipping Weight: 14.4 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 4.1 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (7 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,361,395 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

101 Ways to Bug Children's Book Author Lee Wardlaw:

#1. Ask her how many children's books she writes a day

#2. Ask her when she'll grow up and write 'real' books (meaning books for grown-ups)

#3. Tell her you'd write children's books too - if you had time.

Lee Wardlaw makes time: She's the author of numerous books for young readers, including the award-winning novels 101 Ways to Bug Your Teacher and 101 Ways to Bug Your Parents.

But where does Lee get the ideas for so many books?

"From my own life," Lee says. "Corey's Fire is based on my family's experiences after our house and neighborhood were destroyed in a California wildfire. Dinosaur Pizza was inspired by my childhood love of bologna/mustard/potato-chip sandwiches. I wrote the folk tale picture book Punia and the King of Sharks because I admire Hawaii's rich history of hula storytelling. And my years of experience as a daughter, student, parent and classroom teacher gave me loads of creative material for my 'Bugging' series!"

Lee grew up in Santa Barbara, CA, where she attended Cold Spring Elementary, Santa Barbara Junior High and Santa Barbara High school. She graduated with honors from Cal Poly State University, San Luis Obispo, with a degree in education, and taught elementary school for five years before deciding to write full-time. Lee has 30+ years experience presenting lively and interactive writing programs in grades K through 8th. Since 1988, Lee has also taught a variety of workshops and classes for educators, librarians, parents and aspiring writers. For several years, she was the 'Ask the Children's Book Author' columnist for Inklings, an online magazine.

Lee's books have been honored by the American Library Association, the International Reading Association, Children's Book Council, National Council of the Social Studies, National Council of Teachers of English, Bank Street College of Education, the International School Librarians Association, and more. She has also won 7 state reader's choice awards. Lee is an active member of the Society of Children's Book Writers & Illustrators, and belongs to the Author's Guild, California Reading Association, Children's Literature Council of Southern California and, yes, even the Cat Writers' Association. Upcoming releases include: Won Ton: A Cat Tale Told in Haiku (Holt, 2010), 101 Ways to Bug Your Friends & Enemies (Dial, 2011) and Red, White & Boom! (Holt, 2011).

Lee is currently enrolled in Loyola College of Maryland and the Montessori Institute of San Diego, working on her master's degree in Education. She lives in Santa Barbara, CA, with her husband, teenage son, and three (ornery) cats.

To learn more about Lee, her books & workshops, and 98 other ways to bug her, visit her website at www.leewardlaw.com.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

6 of 7 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Punia and the King of Sharks, May 27, 2000

By A Customer

This review is from: Punia and the King of Sharks: A Hawaiian Folktale (Hardcover)

I have been using this book all semester with 4-7 year-olds in creative art and drama classes. My students rated it as the book they most wanted me to bring back for an encore. It is delightful to see kids' gears turning as they comprehend each of Punia's tricks and predict the outcomes. They charged into the related class projects, and discussed the story on their own. It was a teacher's dream come true.

2 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Great adjunct to our Hawaii trip!, April 22, 2003

By A Customer

This review is from: Punia and the King of Sharks: A Hawaiian Folktale (Hardcover)

I bought this book to read to my 5 year old before we went on our Hawaii vacation. She loved it! We must have read it a dozen times before we left for our vacation! I am not an expert on Hawaiian culture, but the story was entertaining and it discussed many things we experienced during our trip to Hawaii, for example, volcanoes, surfing, seafood, and more. It also has a glossary of common Hawaiian words which were a lot of fun to learn. I highly recommend it for any child who is interested in learning more about different cultures or stories from other lands.

4.0 out of 5 stars Booktalk Review, July 15, 2011

By 

Mytiger56 - See all my reviews

This review is from: Punia and the King of the Sharks (Hardcover)

What animal are you most afraid of? Since I saw Jaws when I was twelve, I've been very afraid of sharks! There were times when I was even afraid to swim in any body of water because of my fear of sharks. Now we all know that sharks don't talk or plot against humans, but in this story, the main character is up against some very smart sharks. Do you think you could trick a shark? How about eleven sharks? Well, that is exactly what Punia aims to do in Punia and the King of the Sharks.

This Hawaiian folktale is about a young boy named Punia who lives in the village with his mother. For dinner every night, Punia and the rest of the villagers have to eat the same old thing because the sharks do not let them fish or catch lobster near the lobster caves under the water. These greedy sharks guard the lobsters and keep them for themselves. They even ate Punia's father when he tried to catch lobsters for their dinner! Now Punia is sick of eating poi everyday, so he hatches a plan to trick the sharks and catch some lobsters.

This story is illustrated with vibrant colors that reflect the beauty of Hawaii and the surrounding ocean waters. Punia must brave these waters every time he attempts to catch the lobsters. He is a very clever boy and his plans to trick the sharks become more and more elaborate as the sharks and the shark king begin to catch on. Would you be afraid if you were underneath the water, inches from nearly a dozen giant sharks, and the only thing keeping them from eating you was your own clever plan? One of Punia's plans was to feed the sharks some thick poi, which when eaten by the sharks, would glue their mouths shut for a short amount of time. Even with their mouths glued shut, I don't think I could swim by eleven man-eating sharks! Could you? Not all of Punia's plans work, so to find out what happens to him, read Punia and the King of the Sharks!